The Vancouver Whitecaps have moved into their new 38,000-square-foot National Soccer Development Centre at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Fifteen years in the making, the facility opened its doors to the team June 14. It will be the home training facility for the Whitecaps’ Major League Soccer and United Soccer League teams, as well as its residency teams.
The facility includes a physiotherapy area, hydrotherapy pools, a treatment room, gym, and dining hall. The facility is divided into wings, one for the first team and another for the other teams.
The project is valued at $32.5 million, with about $14 million coming from the provincial government and the rest funded privately through the Whitecaps.
The Whitecaps also built three grass fields the size of the fields at BC Place stadium and refurbished two existing fields at UBC. The team now has seven fields in total, including two at SFU.
The facility was built in partnership with UBC, which offered land. The team agreed to share some of its amenities, including limited access to the Whitecaps fields. In the fall, UBC will get a wing of the facility for its varsity teams, which includes locker rooms, coaching offices and a concession area. This part of the training facility will be accessible to the community.
Finding a place to establish a training facility posed a challenge for the Whitecaps, said Rachel Lewis, chief operating officer for the Whitecaps.
“Vancouver’s a big city,” Lewis said. “We have a lot of geographic roadblocks – mountains and water and bridges and tunnels.
“We talked to a lot of municipalities and looked at a lot of options over the years. For one reason or another there wasn’t land or community engagement to bring the facility to life.”
Having a new facility means better connectivity between the teams and easier access for players, said Greg Anderson, vice-president of soccer operations.
“On the soccer side, it’s going to be a game changer for us,” Anderson said. “We’ve had our groups in multiple locations. Now by having everybody in one facility, everybody’s together, so that’s really going to foster collaboration amongst the groups and teams.”
The facility has also applied for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification, which is a measure of sustainable design.
“We’ve really focused on sustainable building standards,” Lewis said. “Almost every inch of space is being utilized. There is very little hallway or dense space. It’s a really highly efficient design and footprint.”
While the Whitecaps’ first team has already moved into the new facility, the second team is slated to move in within the next few weeks.
